Patients screened after TB death

Close contacts and anyone who shared a ward with the unnamed deceased were tracked down and tested when the cause of death emerged.

Health officials—who refused to give any details about the patient—this week played down the risk of the infection spreading.

A spokeswoman for The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that “a small number” of patients were offered tests as a precaution after an individual died from an “active” form of TB.

She added: “Any possible infection risk is low. TB does not spread easily and tends to be passed on only after prolonged close contact with an infectious person.”

The Advertiser understands there were other underlying conditions which meant this case was only identified at postmortem.